Playing-ball.



F. T. ROBERTS.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

' Patented Oct. 24,1916.

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PLAYING BALL.

APPLICATION FILED OCT. 2:. @914.

M Patented (M. 119116..

2 SHEETS- 2.

YMZ'TWESSES'. HM? INK/1? FEJElD THOMAS BUFFET-S, F TRENTON, NJEW'JERSEY.

' rnarrne osers.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Fatentedtlct. lh1l6.

Application filed October 21 1914. Serial Ito. 667,693.

7 To all whom it may concern:

ltd

Be it known that l, FRED THOMAs ROB- ners, a citizen of the United States, residing at Trenton, in the county of ltlercer and State of New Jersey, have invented a certain new and-useful Improvement in Playing-Balls, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being bad to the accompanying .drawings.

The object of this invention is to provideair under considerable pressure, the air be-' m entrapped at the time the parts of the bal are brought together so that sealing plugs, or other irregularities, are avoided.

The invention is hereinafter. more fully explained and the essential characteristics set out in the claims. I

lln the drawings, Figure l is a view partly in central section, of the ball of this invention; Fig. 2 is an axial section of a pair of coacting dies for producing one of the hemispherlcal outer shells-this .view shows the dies before they begin to act on the material; Fig. 3,is a view of the dies shown in Fig. 2. after they have been brought to gether; Fig. A is a similar view of dies. for

. p roducing the other half of the outer shell;

ig. 5 is a view showin dies for bringing the par-ts of the comp ete ball together; Fig. 6 is a plan of holders for a set of the dies; Fig. 7 is a vertical section of a suit able device for bringing together two die holders, as shown in Fig. 6, within a suitable closed chamber.

The ball shown in Fig. 1 consists of an outer shell composed of. two hemispheres A and A connected by a lap joint (1, a,

and an inner shell composed of the hemispheres B and B connected by the lag joint 6, 12 there being a spherical cavity within the inner shell filled with compressed air or other substance, as desired. lt will be seen that the lap j oint of the outer shell extends in a direction which is diagonally opposite-to that of the inner shell, thus interlocking the parts and obviating the 1bdianger of the ball being split by a hard edge a.

lln producing such a ball as described, I employ dies -one pair of which are shown at 10 and 11 in Fig. 2. The die 10 has a hemispherical recess 12 and the die 11 a concentric projection 13. Adjacent to the base of such prolection is an annular gutter 1A which is lf-shaped in cross section. With such dies as described, a block of rubber is placed in the cavity 12, as shown at A in Fig. 2, and the dies are brought together until their flat surfaces 15 and 16 contact.

Such position of the diesis' shown in Fig. 3, I

and the hemispherical shell A is produced thereby, of the form appearing 'in that figure.

Fig. A indicates at 20 and 21 a corresponding female and male die for producing the other half of the outer shell. The female die in this case is identical with the die 10, but the male die 21 has a conical male portion 22 between the hemispherical projection 23 and the flat face, instead of the gutter 14'. Accordingly, when these dies are brought together, a hemisphere A is produced, having the inwardly projecting beveled edge a; By dies similar to 10 and 11 and 20 and 21, but difierently proportioned, the inner members B and B are produced.

regard it as preferable to mount a suitable number. of the various dies mentioned in corresponding holders (one holder for each form of die) whereby a number of identical parits may be formed at once. An exampleof such holder is a plate, such as shown in Fig. 6, having a number of openings into which the dies are driven and firmly held by screws.

"In making a golf ball, the outer shell is preferably of gutta-percha and the inner shell of rubber. After the four half shells have been made of material in a semi-cured condition, the inner half B with the out wardly beveled edge'h is placed within the outer half A having the inwardly beveled Similarly the inner half B is placed within the outer halfA. The nestmg halves with the reverse bevels, are placed for rat

have a series of recesses in their cavities to give a pebbled surface a to the ball.

I A suitable substance under pressure may,

be caused to occupy the central spherical llt cavity C of the ball as the nestin halves contained in the dies of Fig. 5 are%)rought .together. This substance is preferably compressed air, and I find it convenient and effective to cause such air to occupy the cavity by placing the separated dies 30 and 31 with their contained ball sections, within a chamber containing compressed air and bringing the dies together therein, then reshell thus produced holds the air after the outside pressure is relieved and during the process of vulcanization. During vulcanization the gutta-percha' softens and the halves seal together at their edges, while the outer face is forced by the internal pressure into the shallow cavities in the containing molds, givin the ball the-pebbled effect shown.-

Suc a ball as described, is not only extremely cheap in production but is 'characterized by great liveness in use. The compressed air center provides asubstantially perfect reflex action, when a blow is delivered to the ball, which greatly increases its travel. 7

Figs. 6 and 7 illustrate a suitable apparatus for bringing together such dies as shown in Fig. 5, in a chamber containing compressed air. As shown in these figures,

40 and 41 are a pair-of plates having recesses occupied by a number of dies 30 and 31 respectively. The diesmay be conveniently clamped in place by screws 42. Suitable means are provided for drawing the plates 40 and 41 tightly together and holding them, the means shown being a screw 45 journaled in the plate 41 by means of a collar 46 on the screw and an overlapping plate 47 secured to the plate 41, this screw turning freely in the plate 41 and having its threads occupying threads in the plate 40. An angular head 48 on the screw furnishes convenient means for turning it. 49 indicates eyes for lifting the upper plate, or the two-plates when fastened together.

50, in Fig. 7, indicates a suitable receptacle having a cover 51 designed-to make an airtight connection therewith by means of the gasket 52 and the hinged clamping bolts 54.

Rotatable in this cover is a Wrench 60 journaled within a stufiing box 61 and having a head with an internal angular socket 62 designed to fit over the angular shank 48. A hand wheel 63 is shown as providing means 65 for turning the' wrench. 55 is a cushion .within the interior of each ball.

the outer and inner lap joints exten block within the receptacle and 56 are vertical guide pins rising from the base of the receptacle.

With such an apparatus as described, the two plates 40 and 41, each containing a number of half sections of the balls, are placed within the casing with the plates separated to allow free passage of air between them. The plates are guided and. prevented from turning by the studs 56 which occupy holes 44 in the plates. The cover 51 is then put on and bolted tight, the socket 62 extending over and embracing the angular shank 48.

Then air is supplied to the interior of the casing through a pipe and a cook 71. When the desired air-pressure is attained within the casing, as indicated by the gage 75, .thehand wheel is turned, turning the screw 45 and bringing the mold parts together, thus imprisoning compressed air When the parts are firmly together, the handleof the cook 71 is turned, connecting the interior with the vent opening 72, relieving the air pressure. Then the cover is removed and the connected plates 40 and 41 withdrawn for vulcanization. After vulcanization the plates are separated, producing a ball of the form indicated in Fig. 1.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A hollow article having an inner and an outer shell each composed of parts connected by lap joints, thelap joints of the inner and outer shells being out of alinement but sufficiently near each other so that .the parts of both shells may be brought together at one operation.

2. A ball composed of an inner and an outer shell, each shell having parts connected by lap joints, the lap joints of the inner and outer shells being out of alinement but sufiiciently near each other so that the parts of .both shells may be brought together atv one operation, and there being a substance under pressure within the inner shell.

I 3. A ball composed of a pair of outer hemispheres connected by a lap joint, and a pair of inner hemispheres connected by a lap joint, the lap joints of the respective hemispheres being out of alinement with each other, but both being located adjacent to the same diameter of the ball, whereby the various parts may be brought together at one operation.

4. A ball composed of a pair of outer hemispheres connected by a lap joint, a pair of inner hemispheres connected by a lagjoint, mg m diagonally opposite directions and having their lanes intersecting.

5. K ball composed of two outer hollow members, one having its edge inwardly beveled and the other outwardly beveled to provide a lap joint, the two inner hollow members having their edges reversely beveled to provide a lap joint, the line of juncture of the inner members intersecting the line of juncture of the outer members.

.6. A ball composed of a pair of outer hemispheres having beveled edges adapted to overlap, and a pair of inner hemispheres having beveled edges adapted to overlap, the line of juncture at the inner face of the outer hemispheres being substantially coincident with the line of juncture at the outer face of the inner hemispheres, Whilethe planes of juncture extend in diagonally opposite directions from such common line.

7 As anew article of manufacture, a golf ball having an outer shell of gutta pereha made of two hemispheres connected by overlapping beveled edges, an inner shell of rub ber made of two hemispheres connected by overlapping beveled edges, the joint of the inner shell being out of alinement with the joint of the outer shell, but both joints located adjacent to the same diametric plane of the ball, and compressed air within the inner shell.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

FRED THOMAS ROBERTS.

Witnesses:

HERBERT RALPH STRAUSS, ANNA SABO. 

